Passaporti

2011-07-22

Maeci

PASSPORTS

The passport is a travel and identity document. It can be issued or extended by the Passport Office of the Consular Jurisdiction in which the Italian is resident.

In reality, in order to reside and travel in the countries of the European Union a valid identity card for ex-patriots, issued by the Italian AIRE in which the person concerned is enrolled, is sufficient. It is, however, always advisable to have a passport in addition to an identity card.

In order to have a passport issued it is necessary to go in person to the Passport Office of the Consular Jurisdiction in which the Italian citizen resides with the following documentation:

signed passport application

identity card

two recent photographs (identical, full-face and in colour)

permit to be in the country or justification of residence in the jurisdiction

(N.B. For an Italian residing abroad to obtain a passport, it is necessary to be registered in the AIRE of an Italian municipality).

An Italian citizen abroad can request the issuance/extension of a passport at a consular jurisdiction in which he/she is not a resident, but in that case it is necessary to wait for the "NULLA OSTA" (clearance) of the Office (Italian Consulate or Police Commissary) authorised for the area in which he/she resides.

An ordinary passport can be renewed even before its expiration date and within and not more 6 months following that date.

PASSPORT VALIDITY

According to the new regulations, passports issued after 4 February 2003 are valid for 10 years (as opposed to the previous 5 years) and cannot be renewed upon expiration.

Ordinary passports with a 5-year validity issued before 4 February 2003, and still valid, can be extended for a period of no longer than 10 years from the issuance date.

For passport extension it is necessary to go in person to the Passport Office of the Consular Jurisdiction in which the Italian is a resident with the following documentation:

signed passport extension application

expired passport

permit to be in the country or justification of residence in the jurisdiction.

1. Minors of less than 16 years of age can be listed on their mother or father’s passports. In order to list a minor on a mother or father’s passport one of the parents must go in person to the Passport Office of the Consular Jurisdiction with the following documentation:

special application available at the Office (or downloadable on the various Italian Consulate Internet sites) signed by both parents or by one of them with the written and signed consent of the other. The act of consent is a personal declaration that the parent can make using the special form available at the Passport Office or composed in the form of a self-certification, accompanied by a photocopy of an identity document;

two photos (identical, full-face and in colour) of the minor only if he/she is ten or more years old;

(N.B. If the minor was born abroad, in order to be registered on his/her parents’ passports it is necessary to provide the authorised Consulate with his/her birth certificate, using a multilingual form, or with rider in the case of a translated version).

· minors of less than 16 can have their own passports: it is highly advisable to give children of less than 16 years old their own passports, since in some countries (such as the United States of America) the benefit of exemption from visa for minors depends on various conditions, among which having their own passport.

2. Minors that have already completed 16 can be issued their own personal passports upon presentation in person at the Passport Office of the Consular Jurisdiction with the following documentation:

special application available at the Office (or downloadable on the various Italian Consulate Internet sites) signed by both parents or by one of them with the written and signed consent of the other;

two photos (identical, full-face and in colour) of the minor.

(N.B. If the minor was born abroad, in order to be issued a passport it is necessary to provide the authorised Consulate with his/her birth certificate, using a multilingual form, or with rider in the case of a translated version).

If one of the parents refuses to sign the act of consent for issuance of the passport to the minor child or for listing the minor child on his/her passport, it is necessary for the consenting parent to go in person to the Passport Office with a signed letter explaining the motives for which the other parent refuses to come sign the act of consent. This letter must give the complete address and telephone numbers of the non-consenting parent.

If the motives for dissent are found to be unjustified, the Consul General can authorise the Office by special decree to issue/extend the minor’s passport or his/her listing on the parent’s passport.

Theft or loss of passport (residents abroad)

The citizen must go in person to the Passport Office of the Consular Jurisdiction with the following documentation:

claim of theft or loss of passport filed at the local police authority

valid photo ID

permit to be in the country or justification of residence in the jurisdiction

Theft or loss of passport (NON-residents abroad)

An Italian citizen in an emergency situation - e.g. a tourist in transit who must leave unexpectedly or who loses or is robbed of his/her passport - and has no time to apply for NULLA OSTA (clearance) for the issuance of a new passport from the Police Commissary or Consulate that issued the lost document, the Consulate General issues a document called a "Travel Document", which is valid only for re-entry in Italy. In order to obtain this it is necessary to go in person to the Consulate with the following documentation:

claim of theft or loss of passport filed at the local police authority